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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27164671">Legal Guardian</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_fandoms_have_risen/pseuds/the_fandoms_have_risen'>the_fandoms_have_risen</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Della is trying, Parent Donald Duck, he really cares for his boys, jealous Della Duck, sad Della duck, she just wants to be a good mom, shes also a little confused, shes just not very experienced</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 00:35:28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>814</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27164671</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_fandoms_have_risen/pseuds/the_fandoms_have_risen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Della knew parenting wasn’t easy.<br/>It had just been so much easier without Donald.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dewey Duck &amp; Donald Duck &amp; Huey Duck &amp; Louie Duck</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>306</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Fav Recs</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Legal Guardian</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Della knew parenting wasn’t easy.</p><p>Especially after being stuck on the moon for the first ten years of your kid’s lives.</p><p>It had just been so much easier without Donald.</p><p>Now don’t get her wrong, Della loves Donald with all her heart; he was her brother and her best friend.</p><p>It just seemed like after he came back, the boys stopped needing her.</p><p>They stopped coming to her for help - which sucked because they didn’t come to her very often.</p><p>It sucked even more because they seemed to go to Donald for everything.</p><p>They went to him for homework tips, and skinned knees, and they went to him after they somehow managed to fill their bathroom with sand.</p><p>It didn’t matter that Della had always been better at school, or that after her time on the moon medical care, and cleaning dust and sand out of hard to reach places was as easy as breathing.</p><p>Donald seemed to know everything about the triplets too.</p><p>He knew that Huey was a perfectionist and an overachiever and knew how to handle his anxiety and slight OCD and he knew Huey struggled to make friends and he somehow managed to make all of that ok.</p><p>He somehow managed to make <em>Huey</em> ok with all of that.</p><p>Donald knew Dewey struggled with his ADHD and that he somehow had a hard time focusing while <em>also</em> having a tendency to hyper-focus and Donald always knew to double-check that Dewey had taken his meds that morning.</p><p>He knew that Dewey had an overwhelming need to prove himself and that it often got him into dangerous situations.</p><p>Donald knew how to get Dewey to finish his homework and he knew how to get him to back down from a challenge that would probably result in injury.</p><p>Donald knew how much Louie needed to be around people, despite his uncaring attitude, and that his laziness was mostly just a front to cover up the fear of getting hurt like Dewey often did.</p><p>Donald knew how to calm Louie down after a nightmare, and he knew how to help Louie through his panic attacks.</p><p>Della hadn’t known any of these things (she had had to learn them all second hand) - and she hated it.</p><p>She hated how Donald called the triplets “his boys.”</p><p>And despite Donald not actually being their father to the rest of the world Huey, Dewey, and Louie <em>were</em> Donald’s boys.</p><p><em>Donald</em> had been the one to raise them, he had been the one to name them, he had been the one who was always <em>there</em>.</p><p>Donald had heard their first words and seen their first steps.</p><p>He was the one who had gone to all of the stupid parent-teacher conferences.</p><p>The first time Della had shown up at the boy’s school nobody had recognized her and the teacher had almost refused to let her into the conference.</p><p>They had had to call Donald to make sure she was actually supposed to be there.</p><p>Because it was<em> Donald’s</em> name on the boy’s files, not hers.</p><p>It was <em>Donald’s</em> phone number listed under emergency contacts.</p><p>Because <em>Donald</em> was the boy’s legal guardian.</p><p>Not Della.</p><p>Donald was the one who had struggled to hold down a job.</p><p>Donald was the one who had to pay for everything, and Donald was the one who bought the stupid houseboat the boys called home.</p><p>Donald was the one who bought the clothes, and mended the tears, and did the laundry.</p><p>Donald was the one who knew which hoodie was Louie’s favorite despite them all being the same.</p><p>Donald had been the one to buy Huey ’s red cap.</p><p>Donald had been the one to give Dewey his signature haircut.</p><p>Donald had been the one to color-code them.</p><p>And now <em>Donald</em> was the one the boys were begging for a five-dollar bill to go to the arcade Della couldn’t remember the name to. (Donald probably knew the name phone number and all the employees on a first and last name basis)</p><p>And Donald gave it to them without hesitation despite how he struggled for money.</p><p>He fussed over the kids as they made their way to the door trying to convince them to wear a jacket even though it was spring and there was barely a chill in the air.</p><p>He even fussed over Webby.</p><p>That’s how much of a parent Donald was.</p><p>He was fussing over someone else’s kid.</p><p>Well, Huey, Dewey and Louie were someone else’s kids but try telling Donald that and he would do that weird passive-aggressive anger thing that Della didn’t think she would ever get used to.</p><p>His anger management therapy worked.</p><p>And he had started it because of the boys.</p><p>He had started it because he had wanted to be a good parent.</p><p>And he was a good parent.</p><p>Donald was a better parent than Della would ever be.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>that was really satisfying to write.</p><p>If anyone noticed any grammatical/spelling errors please feel free to let me know in the comments!!<br/>I'm always open to constructive criticism!</p><p>Thanks for reading!!!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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